I must say, today did not start out as a very good day, but ended totally different. Thank GOD for people who make me laugh.

Have you ever had to take any of those silly mandatory tests for work? You know…the ones you have to do yearly for things like, Hazardous Materials, Slip, Trips and Falls, etc.? Well, I had approximately 20 (not kidding) that were overdue. Eeek! I found out on Tuesday from my bosses boss and they were due by tomorrow. Nice notice, huh?

First, this wouldn’t be such a big deal if:

I was a full time employee and was at the facility more than my 4-5 hours per week

I actually had a WORK computer with access to email or could do this from the privacy of my home preferably with a cold beer

If I didn’t have to drive 24 miles for said stupid mandatory test

As I gasped for air when I saw all these bright orange flags that said, “past due, past due”, my boss (friend) says, “we’ve got this!” I laughed and said, “crrrrrrapppp, this is going to take us hours.”
She was like, “no, let’s knock this out. We can be out of here by 4pm.”

We got started on the tasks at hand, waiting with baited breathe that it would just be a “click here and sign
” task. There were a few and we shouted gleefully as we opened those like it was Christmas morning. When we got to those where you have to wait to move forward we were all like, “oh geez, this sucks’ and hit the next button with fervor to get the task over. Then there were those we just clicked as fast as we could through each of the slides, pausing for a quick second to click on the boxes that wouldn’t let you move forward until opened and then moving on.

About 15 of the 20 past due pain in the ass mandatory tests had those damn assessment test’s at the end to which, my boss (friend) shouts, “come on, we’ve GOT this. You can do it. I have faith in you!” We laughed and giggled as we tried to “guess” answer these questions. Some questions were super easy, some were those ones that like to throw you for a loop. I actually would shut my eyes in anticipation of it being wrong every.. single.. time I hit submit. It was like a knee jerk reaction that only created more laughter.

We managed to pass every test without even reading the material (shhh, don’t tell anyone or OSHA for that matter), except for two (and, we still “guess” answered). One we had to retake four times otherwise we would’ve finished at 355pm.

Just in case you need to know the symbols!

Moral of the story….Come on people, really? I get it for legal purposes, but let’s do this in small doses, not 20 at one time. And, for goodness sake…let me be able to do it from the privacy of my own home, in my pajamas, at my own time, drinking my beer.

Except….I don’t think I would’ve gotten as much laughter out of today without my friend. Maybe next time, still let me do this from home and I can invite her over to cheer me on and we can both have a beer, or two, or three!

Enjoy those mandatory workplace tests. They are required by law.

~ Crys

Ps. On a more serious note…As I sat there with her cheering me on for an hour and a half, I started thinking, I DO HAVE THIS! Meaning, I got my self out of the house because I HAD to go in there and take this test and I never once had any kind of anxiety (see Anxiety posts in regards). Not one little bit. I only had laughter. So, in the end, this turned out to be a pretty good day. 🙂

As you are aware, I am a huge Imagine Dragons fan. I will travel to see them, if I can. If you read my bio, you will see that my husband and I joke about being the oldest at their shows.

Insert a litte whine…they are playing in Orlando tomorrow night at Hard Rock with Nate Ruess. It’s a concert to benefit the victims of Orlando and donate money to first responders. I am sad to say that I am unable to go. 😦 Just cannot afford it at the moment (even though this could pull me completely out of my anxiety funk) 😉

With that said, I am playing the Smoke + Mirrors live concert on surround sound. Sorry neighbors!

The one part that gives me chills every single time is when Dan Reynolds sings a little bit of “Forever Young” ~ Alphaville right into Smoke + Mirrors.

If you ever get to hear Dan’s version. It is AWESOME!!!

Here ya go for the lyrics…

“Forever Young”

Let’s dance in style, let’s dance for a while
Heaven can wait, we’re only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don’t have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music’s for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders, we’re getting in tune
The music’s played by the, the mad men

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever? Forever young

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later, they all will be gone
Why don’t they stay young?

It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth’s like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn’t happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?

Source: #NationalSelfieDay — hers is much funnier than mine, so read it first. I will wait. 😉

For the last 6 months my running has fallen by the side. I’ve gone from marathon runner to pretty much housebound. Anxiety sucks! Well, on occasion, I have been able to get out and run short – very short – distances (for me). So, today, on #NationalSelfieDay, here is a shot of what I am grateful for today.

It’s Saturday morning. I am setting new goals for myself as I seem to focus less on my symptoms if I have forward momentum.

So, today, my first goal is to switch my Gratitude Journal to the morning instead of the evening. Why? It really sets the intention for the day. Mornings are for most people, including myself, when anxiety is at its highest. The hard part, I am switching from only writing only one to three new things each day.

The concept of this is not new. However, I’ve been listening to Tim JP Collins while on my “dreadmill” and he reminded me of this practice. (By the way, podcasts are EXCELLENT while exercising).

Realizing what’s right in front of me today and what I am grateful for:

My daughter slept past 8am! (that’s a record)

Made biscuits and honey for the hubs and daughter (I may have snuck one in which means I must get a run in on the “dreadmill” today).

I had a butterfly land on my hand while I was putting fresh food in their enclosure. (We raised 7 caterpillars, watched them create chrysallis’ and then emerge as butterflies. We will be releasing them tomorrow.)

Common Buckeye

So far, it seems pretty easy. It will be interesting to see if I can name different ones each day.

What I hope to gain is just a new perspective. Looking back I was so busy that I stopped being thankful for the little things. I was too worried about the future instead of being here and now.

By the way, one of my other goal’s and my homework from my therapist…get my a$$ back to running! I have been exercising at home, but I need to get out in the air and breathe. Baby steps, baby steps… I will, however, be back! Look out world!

Holy Moly…. I have a husband listening to his iPad without headphones WITH the news on in the living room. My daughter watching tv and reading OUT LOUD in OUR room. I am in the kitchen trying to make dinner with frayed nerves because of sensory overload.

Geesh people. Can you at least find my headphones for me?

~ Crys

Ps. Thanks for letting me vent. This got my mind of the noise for a second. 🙂

Have you ever found something that just made you smile? No, I am not talking about a brand spankin’ new BMW (Volvo would be my thing), or a trip to Disneyland (Germany would be my thing). I am talking about little things that just make you say, “this makes me happy.” I have two such things that happened upon my life the last couple weeks.

While I am a little late on the uptake about thebloggess‘, Beyonce. I am now a new owner a slightly “smaller” version. Yup… I did not set out to buy a chicken (rooster). I happened upon it, it was cheap and thought, why not? I love Jenny Lawson and this makes me happy. Plus, it just makes for a great conversation piece.

I snagged my little 2′ chicken (rooster) and brought it home to my napping husband. I carefully placed it on the pillow next to him. I was on the treadmill when he came in and said, “now that’s a big metal chicken!” Wahoo, it was a great day.

It was on The Bloggess site that I found my second happy item. An Exceptional adult coloring book by Jen Meyers. As she says, “totally inappropriate”, but I say, “oh, hell yeah!” It’s fun, cheeky and makes you feel like a total badass. Insert parental warning, it’s R rated. If you need a great laugh, a confidence booster and a way to decompress, this is the one. You will have the gusto to dive right in and color!

On another note…I think Jenny and Jen need to collaborate and make a coloring book that’s more fun than this…. (which was also being sold at the store where I found my rooster).